The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
A warning sign
I missed the good part, then I realized
I started looking and the bubble burst
I started looking for excuses
Come on in
I've gotta tell you what a state I'm in
I've gotta tell you in my loudest tones
That I started looking for a warning sign
When the truth is
I miss you
Yeah the truth is
That I miss you so
A warning sign
It came back to haunt me, and I realized
That you were an island and I passed you by
When you were an island to discover
Come on in
I've gotta tell you what a state I'm in
I've gotta tell you in my loudest tones
That I started looking for a warning sign
When the truth is
I miss you
Yeah the truth is
That I miss you so
And I'm tired
I should not have let you go
(Oh oh oh)
So I crawl back into your open arms
Yes I crawl back into your open arms
And I crawl back into your open arms
Yes I crawl back into your open arms
I missed the good part, then I realized
I started looking and the bubble burst
I started looking for excuses
Come on in
I've gotta tell you what a state I'm in
I've gotta tell you in my loudest tones
That I started looking for a warning sign
When the truth is
I miss you
Yeah the truth is
That I miss you so
A warning sign
It came back to haunt me, and I realized
That you were an island and I passed you by
When you were an island to discover
Come on in
I've gotta tell you what a state I'm in
I've gotta tell you in my loudest tones
That I started looking for a warning sign
When the truth is
I miss you
Yeah the truth is
That I miss you so
And I'm tired
I should not have let you go
(Oh oh oh)
So I crawl back into your open arms
Yes I crawl back into your open arms
And I crawl back into your open arms
Yes I crawl back into your open arms
Lyrics submitted by BuckWilder
Warning Sign Lyrics as written by Guy Rupert Berryman Christopher Anthony John Martin
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
Jesus...this is my situation at the moment...it describes conceited intransigence...a false sense of flexibility...pride...stubbornness...indecision...paranoia hermetically sealed behind some elaborate self-righteous defence mechanism...blameless blame games...the maze of inconsistencies left in the wake of misunderstandings...tiredness..irritability..impatience...misunderstandings...crossed wires...inaction...blindness...fault...destroying love through anger and laziness and insecurity...
wow that's exactly what I'm dealing with right know<br /> I couldn't have said it better... <br /> "hermetically sealed behind some elaborate self-righteous defence mechanism" which I can't control anymore and its controlling myself...
This song is beautiful and very painful to hear at the same time, it's actually pretty hard to describe in my own words how I really feel about it and how it speaks to me, but I'll try...
It's actually something that is overcoming me right now, which is that I'm desperately in love with a girl who has fallen in love with someone else. As they got together and she told me, I felt so sad but at the same time I was very happy for her... after she told me that she fell in love with that guy I couldn't help but explain the love I had for her all this time. Day by day we talked and talked and talked... but it wasn't the same as before, it wasn't the same as when she didn't have a boyfriend.
And it really wasn't getting better between the two of us anymore because I kept trying to win her for myself which was really selfish of me, so we talked about it and we both decided that we have to take measurements on how we are going to maintain our friendship. We both agreed to not talk to each other so often anymore as we would.
It went well for awhile, but 'the bubble burst' and even after our promise I still desperately tried to let her fall in love with me. 'I started looking for excuses' on how we should talk more with each other again, because basically everything she does or says makes me fall in love with her all over again. It has now kind of gotten out of hand, because I couldn't control my feelings for her anymore, I loved her so much. Even though I tried and tried to hide my feelings as much as I could, it didn't work out.
Two days ago she told me that it is really bothering her that I give her attention which she should actually get from her current boyfriend and started to feel things for me every time I talked to her and contemplated about whether she should remove me from every single social media connection, to spend more time with the guy she actually fell in love with in the first place. She did remove me in the end...
And now I'm kind of stuck and listening to this song over and over again, desperately hoping that she'll realize that 'I was an island and she passed me by', that 'I was an island she still has to discover'. I want to tell her on this moment but I can't anymore, but if I could... 'I want to tell her in my loudest tone' that..
The truth is,
That I miss her so much...
@kma88 same with my story.. Sad, but we have to accept.
@kma88 dude how are u
@kma88 You shared so much of yourself and what you were going through at the time. It takes a lot to do that and I hope you have since made peace with yourself.
'When the truth is, I miss you', so simple but so fuckin brilliant
This song to me tells the story of someone who has doubt about someone so they break up with them without a valid reason 'looking for a warning sign' but then realises that they love that person and want to go back... This song holds a special place in my heart as I would like this to happen to me. I fell in love with someone and they broke up with me. I want them to realise that they love me like I love them and we can get back together. This song gives me hope that it will happen. Although I believe I am just deluding myself
@littlemissindie hi there, what happened in the end. Did they come back to you?
wow! i love this song so fucking much but it means something so personal for me just like alot of people... ---That you were an island and I passed you by, You were an island to discover.--- this part to me is about realizing that you overlooked something so wonderful and finally seeing what your missing and falling in love! this song kicks ass and coldplay is the ultimate best
This song is so beautiful and so depressing. I had this friend whom i deeply fell in love with. We had a lot of memories and he led me on. But there were warning signs everywhere and my illusion disappeared like a bubble burst. so finally i stopped being his doormat. I told him we are over and never to call me again. It has been nearly a month. Everyday i opened my eyes, breathe, live but the truth is i really miss him, i miss him a lot. I am looking for excuses to have him back in my life. I am tired and i miss him. At the end of the song.. "so i crawl back into your open arms". The saddest truth is there is no open arms waiting for me which makes this song even depressing for me.
@..liz.. how u been
@..liz.. how u been
doesnt it piss you off when a song or an artist can be your freaken carbon copy? this song, amongst others on A Rush of Blood to the Head could be a soundtrack to my life. Coldplay kicks ass.
This song fits PERFECTLY with a situation that my boyfriend and I were just in. We've been together for a long time, but he's leaving for the Air Force at the end of this summer. We've been through a lot together, but he grew afraid that our lives were leading different directions because I'll be off at college while he's at boot camp. Many of his friends in the Air Force convinced him that we wouldn't make it and that I would leave him. He broke up with me that night. I couldn't sleep and was completely miserable that entire night, and he said he was too the next morning when he asked me to come back to him. He said that he made a mistake and that he shouldn't have let me go. I finally decided to take him back. <br /> Coldplay has had soooo many songs that go perfectly with my life. I love them!
you panic and look for reasons to push someone away. you keep your eyes peeled for "warning signs." you hurt someone.
then days, weeks, months later, you WILL have a moment where you realize how much you've just messed up and what you've missed out on because you were busy being scared.
@catherineks I think that pretty much sums up the message I hear in this song. I have just lost my partner of 4 years and I miss her terribly. She was my soulmate and left me with no real explanation as to why. I used to be the centre of her world and she mine. So sad. I think she just could not face some of the challenges she saw all of a sudden (even though there were none) and walked away. It is difficult to understand how someone can just switch off like that. There is nothing stranger than the human condition.
one of my favorite songs from the A Rush Of Blood To The Head album. I love this song because it relates to the times i’ve been passing for almost a year now.
i like to think that this is an interpretation of a ‘wake up call’ for a boy who later realized that he “missed a good part” a good relationship with a girl, whom he just found out he’s in love with.
“i started looking for excuses”
He was very indecisive and started looking for excuses to end the relationship and not caring whether it would hurt her.
“come on in. i’ve gotta tell you what a state i’m in” as time passes by, he’s in a bad state in his life full of misery and regret of what he has done. he is desperate for her attention and begs her to listen to him.
“it came back to haunt me, and i realized that you were an island and i passed you by, when you were an island to discover”
he realizes more and more as his regret comes back to haunt him frequently. He realized her worth and how he did not value it enough during the relationship, he passed her by when he should’ve gave more time to discover her beauty.
“when the truth is, i miss you, and im tired, i should not have let you go.. so i crawl back into your open arms...”
he can’t take it anymore and he finally expresses his feelings and thoughts to this girl.. and so she takes him back as he “crawls” back into her open arms.
again, on times like this in my life i can relate to this song. im a girl. i am the indecisive person who left and is now living a haunted life full of regret. can’t take my mind off of what i did. this was over a year ago, possibly two. i want to express my thoughts and feelings to this boy but he’s happier without me. even if he doesn’t ever take me back, i just want his forgiveness in order for me to finally live peacefully. Ps. my favorite band is Coldplay and i absolutely love them I love coldplay forever! ,
x emma
i just want to say that this song, and the whole new album, mean so much to me after only a day's listening. i can't even imagine what it's going to mean for me after a month or a year or a lifetime. this song is beautiful and speaks directly to me and my situation with my gf. tears. well, tears if i was more emo.